NASA has now set a new launch date for the much-delayed Artemis 1 moon mission. The mission is a first step in our human return to the moon. As EarthSky reports, Artemis 1 is now due to go up from Kennedy Space Center in Florida – without human passengers this time – at 12:07 a.m. ET (4:07 UTC) on November 14, 2022. So wow! It could be a spectacular light show as Artemis 1 blasts off into the midnight sky.
NASA announced the update to the launch time and date via its Artemis blog. There’s a 69-minute launch window. The agency said its mighty Space Launch System (SLS) – consisting of a rocket that’s taller than the Statue of Liberty, with the Orion crew capsule on top – is essentially still ready to fly following the most recent launch abort on September 27.
At present, the moonship is still in the Vehicle Assembly Building, where it was placed to keep it safe during Hurricane Ian. It’ll undergo a minor makeover and a bit of primping prior to flight. The rollout back to Launch Complex 39B is planned for early next month, NASA said:
Teams will perform standard maintenance to repair minor damage to the foam and cork on the thermal protection system and recharge or replace batteries on the rocket, several secondary payloads, and the flight termination system. The agency plans to roll the rocket back to the launch pad as early as Friday, November 4.
Should NASA stand down on November 14, there are two backup dates planned. Both are also nighttime launches:
NASA has requested backup launch opportunities for Wednesday, November 16, at 1:04 a.m. and Saturday, November 19, at 1:45 a.m., which are both two-hour launch windows. A launch on November 14 would result in a mission duration of about 25-and-a-half days with a splashdown in the Pacific Ocean Friday, December 9.
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